An easy "Ready Rod" setup!

[torker]

Hey guys...I needed to dial in a piece of ready rod that needs to be turned down on the ends. Quick and easy...put a HSS cutter in the holder...clamp a 6" rule to it so it has a bit of pressure on it. Pop the DI on the top and it's a done deal.
Stoopid ready rod (Grade 8) was really badly bent on the end. About drove me nuts til I slid it out aways.
And yes I was using a 3 jaw. I hate this chuck so I've started using the "tapping the scroll around" trick with it. It actually works very well! For rough and ready work like this little job it's very fast. Easily got it to .002 which is as good as the crooked ready rod anyway.
Sorry for the usual crappy pic. I should try the "tapping around" method with the camera!

Russ

[TGTool]

Nice solution and good illustration.

However, it immediately stirs the imagination. Like clamping a thread wire under the rule, setting the TPI and engaging the halfnuts so as you rotated the chuck (by hand) you'd be measuring the actual thread flanks instead of the crest, AND following the thread along the length as you worked on centering.

That probably isn't relevant here, but a few days ago there was a thread about re-timing for thread cutting after the part had been removed from the chuck. In a case like that I think I'd want to be really re-centered in addition to picking up the thread again. My usual ploy, if I anticipate having to remove the part to check fit, is to set up between center and make sure I remember which chuck jaw the dog was resting against.

[BadDog]

Great idea on using the scale to even things up, I've used similar in the past to avoid ridges, gouges, scale, and rust pockets; anything that did not contribute to the end result attempted to be neutralized, or at least, minimized.. What I really want to do is build one of those neat transfer tool holders that was built by one of the guys (Frank Ford?) where there is a smoothly sliding spring-loaded "blade" (looks sorta like a part-off blade) captured in a QCTP holder and spring loaded against the work piece and a DTI on the back side. The front contact surface of the "blade" rides over imperfections and transfers out the sorta averaged deviance to the DTI for observation. Quite handy I would think. But your straight to the point low-tech is every bit as good, so who knows when I'll get the incentive to build one.

I've got a Buck 3 jaw (rbadged as Logan) that I treat similarly. It's not complete crap, but bad enough to not trust and be frustrating at the worst moment, but still fine for single setups that don't have to be taken down or made concentric to existing features. Too good to toss, and too crappy to be worth anything to sell. So I use it when I don't want to offend my Pratt Burnerd 3 jaw which never sees CI or abrasive for any reason, though I will file on it <oh, the shame! > But sometimes you have to face reality and 'Get 'er dun!".

But I have a question, what's all that fluffy stuff in the background. I seem to recall seeing some of that lying around on my lathe, but it's been so long I don't recall how it got there... I gotta make time to see if I can convert some of my big chunks of stuff in to that little fluffy stuff tomorrow if I can get a few higher priority jobs wrapped in time. I seem to recall it had a most satisfying therapeutic effect, while often having a seemingly contradictory dramatic increase on my frustration and anger levels. Even so, I have this vague memory that it was "fun", something I seem to recall that I enjoyed once in a while... in an earlier life...

Nice job and THANKS FOR THE PICS!

[wierdscience]

Hey good solution!

You can also with that setup along with a more ridgid piece of metal than the ruler to set the DTI behind center and applify the runnout.

[mklotz]

Here's what I use for centering square stock in the four jaw.



A piece of thin sheet metal is held in front of the DI by a piece of aluminum setscrewed to the DI shank. The DI is held to a large magnet by a fitting that allows the DI to be adjusted up/down (to get it on centerline). In use the whole assembly slapped on the the compound and held there by the magnet.

As the corners of the square stock come around, they contact the sheet metal tab and retract the DI stem so it doesn't get damaged.

[torker]

Marv, I remembered your setup rig you show...but didn't have time to make one. I really should. That's a great idea you had there.
Darin...Another good idear! That'd turn a cheap .001 China DI into one capable of measuring down to 1/10 millionth of an inch if the blade was long enough

[wierdscience]

Originally Posted by torker

Marv, I remembered your setup rig you show...but didn't have time to make one. I really should. That's a great idea you had there.
Darin...Another good idear! That'd turn a cheap .001 China DI into one capable of measuring down to 1/10 millionth of an inch if the blade was long enough

If the rod is long enough you wouldn't even need the DI